"You can lose weight without working out". YES. But...
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Hungry_Shopgirl wrote: »I 100% agree that being in a calorie deficit is all it takes to lose weight.
But when I read on the boards people telling others who are struggling to make time to work out "You don't need exercise to lose weight" I cringe a little....mostly because in my own case it all started with exercise.
I started swimming, and wanted to be better at it so I took up C25K, then figured eating better would probably help with both, bringing me to the calorie deficit that put me into the "normal weight" BMI for the first time in my adult life. Even now, exercising is the engine for me. If I'm working out, I WANT to eat well. If not, I don't care.
So perhaps there are other "latent" athletes out there for whom the advice to make time to work out could be the trigger that changes everything, and we're discouraging that by saying "Nah, don't worry about it, just eat less".
Thoughts?
I absolutely HATE to work out so I WILL NOT make time for it. I will stick with my calorie deficit to lose weight and I will eat adequate protein to help spare my muscles. So, it's 100% diet for me 0% exercise.
I don't know which is a more disappointing reflection on current society: The fact that someone could be so passionately against something so beneficial to their health (complete with liberal use of caps), or that others on this forum apparently agree with you.18 -
We all need to find what works for us, and what's sustainable. For me-that was not exercising. I had no problems losing around 50lbs and I'm still having no problem, now almost 4 years into maintenance. I'm more active in my every day activities but I don't intentionally set aside time to exercise. It's what works for me and I've hit my weight and health goals doing it this way. To each their own
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trigden1991 wrote: »I dont exercize, iv lost 54lbs. I walk to the shops and walk the dog, look after my toddler and work....I.dont really stop all day. So theres no chance in hell im getting up at 4am to do a run or wasting precious evenings at the gym when I dont need to. U dont need exercize to lose weight or to be healthy.
"I don't exercize"
but
"I walk to the shops and walk the dog"
So you do exercise...............
I think people are defining the term exercise differently. To me-walking the dog, walking while doing errands etc is just being active in your every day life and not 'exercise' per se.9 -
LiminalAscendance wrote: »Hungry_Shopgirl wrote: »I 100% agree that being in a calorie deficit is all it takes to lose weight.
But when I read on the boards people telling others who are struggling to make time to work out "You don't need exercise to lose weight" I cringe a little....mostly because in my own case it all started with exercise.
I started swimming, and wanted to be better at it so I took up C25K, then figured eating better would probably help with both, bringing me to the calorie deficit that put me into the "normal weight" BMI for the first time in my adult life. Even now, exercising is the engine for me. If I'm working out, I WANT to eat well. If not, I don't care.
So perhaps there are other "latent" athletes out there for whom the advice to make time to work out could be the trigger that changes everything, and we're discouraging that by saying "Nah, don't worry about it, just eat less".
Thoughts?
I absolutely HATE to work out so I WILL NOT make time for it. I will stick with my calorie deficit to lose weight and I will eat adequate protein to help spare my muscles. So, it's 100% diet for me 0% exercise.
I don't know which is a more disappointing reflection on current society: The fact that someone could be so passionately against something so beneficial to their health (compete with liberal use of caps), or that others on this forum apparently agree with you.
i think to each his own , we are a big world with lots of different people . Nothing wrong with that and i would hate to think we are all the same .3 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »I dont exercize, iv lost 54lbs. I walk to the shops and walk the dog, look after my toddler and work....I.dont really stop all day. So theres no chance in hell im getting up at 4am to do a run or wasting precious evenings at the gym when I dont need to. U dont need exercize to lose weight or to be healthy.
"I don't exercize"
but
"I walk to the shops and walk the dog"
So you do exercise...............
I think people are defining the term exercise differently. To me-walking the dog, walking while doing errands etc is just being active in your every day life and not 'exercise' per se.
And I would agree with you.
Unfortunately, this is kind of the problem on the forums sometimes. Some call this type of thing exercise, others don't..
So she, and others here, say they don't exercise.
Then apparently people who don't exercise, and those who support that choice, are shamed for it.
No wonder newbies get frustrated here sometimes.12 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »I dont exercize, iv lost 54lbs. I walk to the shops and walk the dog, look after my toddler and work....I.dont really stop all day. So theres no chance in hell im getting up at 4am to do a run or wasting precious evenings at the gym when I dont need to. U dont need exercize to lose weight or to be healthy.
"I don't exercize"
but
"I walk to the shops and walk the dog"
So you do exercise...............
I think people are defining the term exercise differently. To me-walking the dog, walking while doing errands etc is just being active in your every day life and not 'exercise' per se.
But for some very sedentary people (whether by choice or physical limitations) what you consider normal *would* constitute exercise for them.
The beauty of losing weight is that it's not exclusively for the able-bodied. Anyone in any physical condition can lose weight. And some, when they do, might find that they are then able to get some 'exercise' going (even just short walks occasionally) that would've been out of the question previously.
I do agree though, that although not required to achieve weight loss, exercise of any kind plays an important part in overall wellness. 6 -
I'm only bothered when people just write, "You can lose weight without working out" without going into further detail.
First off, I feel like the difference between formal exercise versus activity is not clarified enough. People can choose to adopt an active lifestyle so that that a set workout is not necessary if they don't really want to set time aside for it. The first couple months I was losing weight, I did a lot of DVD programs to help with the CO portion of the equation. I didn't truly see/understand the difference and impact of non-formal exercise until I got a Fitbit. I found out that it was easier and more fun just to incorporate activity into my life. I do a lot of yoga, and I still do video programs or workouts every once in a while for fun, but for the most part, I'm content getting my heartbeat up by taking short walks throughout the day, taking stairs, shopping inefficiently, etc. It adds up pretty quickly, and I hit 20k+ steps a day quite often these past couple months without feeling like I put forth a ton of effort. I feel good, and it all feels very sustainable.
Also, if a person is short and light like me, their TDEE for a sedentary lifestyle is not that high to begin with, and for weight loss, that number will be even lower. While portion control is not impossible, it can be more difficult to have a tiny portion of favorite foods, especially with holidays and parties. Staying active not only keeps a person in good health, but it also helps improve their quality of life so that they can enjoy more of the fuel needed to keep them alive.2 -
trigden1991 wrote: »I dont exercize, iv lost 54lbs. I walk to the shops and walk the dog, look after my toddler and work....I.dont really stop all day. So theres no chance in hell im getting up at 4am to do a run or wasting precious evenings at the gym when I dont need to. U dont need exercize to lose weight or to be healthy.
"I don't exercize"
but
"I walk to the shops and walk the dog"
So you do exercise...............
I dont call that exercize.....thats a,normal part of a 40 year old working mothers daily routine. How many exercize calories can I eat back for going to the shop to buy milk?
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Being older than most of you, I can say that exercise is more important to me. I have OA and if I don't move I stiffen up. This has been going on for 20 yrs, but it's only since I started MFP, 3 and a half years ago, that I became inspired to do more by all you dedicated folks. I found that pushing myself to do more made me feel so much better. Not everyone likes formal exercise--and that's OK. My pool and gym are already chock full. 2
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My take from what that poster said is that walking her dog isn't "exercise" because she does it everyday and doesn't have to put on special clothes and drive to a gym. And I'm sure if she logged that as exercise, certain MFPers would ride her for it.snickerscharlie wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »I dont exercize, iv lost 54lbs. I walk to the shops and walk the dog, look after my toddler and work....I.dont really stop all day. So theres no chance in hell im getting up at 4am to do a run or wasting precious evenings at the gym when I dont need to. U dont need exercize to lose weight or to be healthy.
"I don't exercize"
but
"I walk to the shops and walk the dog"
So you do exercise...............
I think people are defining the term exercise differently. To me-walking the dog, walking while doing errands etc is just being active in your every day life and not 'exercise' per se.
But for some very sedentary people (whether by choice or physical limitations) what you consider normal *would* constitute exercise for them.
Just to point out, many here would say that poster should include anything she does every day in her daily activity setting (ie: lightly active) rather than separately log walking the dog. Me, I walk 10 hours a day and have my activity set to moderately active. Yes, all that walking is exercise, but I do it daily and include it in my activity setting. I do walking videos 3-4 times a week and log those as exercise.
General comment - if people don't want to exercise, they don't need to. It doesn't make them less healthy or care less about their health. It just means they don't exercise.12 -
Exercise is any physical activity requiring the input of effort. Walking is exercise, standing up and sitting down is exercise.
"Working out" is exercise but exercise does not have to be working out.7 -
I cringe too when people throw that piece of terrible advice out there. Exercise helps increase the calories a person will burn in a day and also it will help create more muscle mass which also will itself increase calorie burn in general. Since muscle is active tissue as opposed the dead weight that fat is. I know some people just seriously don't have time for exercise and others seriously despise exercise, and for those people they need the hope of losing weight with out exercise. And yeah, they may be able to lose weight with no exercise but that doesn't mean we should run around telling everyone that they don't need exercise when they come in looking for advice on exercise.
There was a lady who posted once stating she was a stay home mother with small children and needed ways to exercise from home to assist her weight loss efforts. All the "You don't need exercise to lose weight!" and "Stop making excuses!" Crowd came out to put her through the wringer. I don't think she ever came back here again thanks to all the unhelpful, and to be honest quite snarling and rude, "advice" she received here.
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trigden1991 wrote: »I dont exercize, iv lost 54lbs. I walk to the shops and walk the dog, look after my toddler and work....I.dont really stop all day. So theres no chance in hell im getting up at 4am to do a run or wasting precious evenings at the gym when I dont need to. U dont need exercize to lose weight or to be healthy.
"I don't exercize"
but
"I walk to the shops and walk the dog"
So you do exercise...............
There is a difference in exercise for the purpose of exercise, calorie burn, gaining physical stamina, strength and endurance and traveling somewhere on foot for an entirely different purpose. Purposeful exercise will likely come with an effort which is directed at improvement of many physical and mental factors. You know that though.1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »I dont exercize, iv lost 54lbs. I walk to the shops and walk the dog, look after my toddler and work....I.dont really stop all day. So theres no chance in hell im getting up at 4am to do a run or wasting precious evenings at the gym when I dont need to. U dont need exercize to lose weight or to be healthy.
"I don't exercize"
but
"I walk to the shops and walk the dog"
So you do exercise...............
I dont call that exercize.....thats a,normal part of a 40 year old working mothers daily routine. How many exercize calories can I eat back for going to the shop to buy milk?
I walk my dog a total of 60 minutes a day...usually works out to approximately 350-400 calories, according to my tracker. I'd say that would be considered exercise to someone who does not workout, or is otherwise very sedentary. So to answer your question, if you walk a half hour to, then from the store, you could easily eat back 200-300, depending on your goals.2 -
I thought that advice was mostly given to people who think they can exercise the pounds away without managing their food consumption.2
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This is your typical "to each your own" or "whatever works" situation.
Personally, I feel like exercise is such a gift for emotional and mental reasons more than physical ones, and the fact that it burns calories is just a bonus. Honestly, if I'm not really careful about what I eat I don't lose weight, anyway, so for me it's not even much of a tool when it comes to keeping my weight at a good place. I'm a typical "weight is lost in the kitchen, not the gym" person--if I go on an 8 mile run and burn 800 calories, that doesn't mean I can just eat an extra 800 calories, though I usually want to because it makes me hungry to run for that long, so I really am not working out to lose.
But...I still love it. I solve problems during my runs, I meet great people at classes and the gym, I feel victorious after accomplishing a new goal in a way that translates to my work, I role model healthy behavior for my kids, it makes the weight I'm at put me in a size 4 instead of a size 6/8 (same pounds without tone/definition looks a lot different on my frame), it calms my nerves, it helps me sleep better...I'm pretty certain that exercising most of my adult life made me recover faster from my 3 c-sections/pregnancies...there are so many benefits to exercise for me, personally, even though weight loss isn't one of them, that I do think it's something it would be a shame to miss out on. I don't judge anyone who doesn't partake because this isn't a moral or ethical thing. It's kind of like hearing that someone never went to a beach. If you've been to a beach, you think awww, I hope they get to see the ocean one day!7 -
For those of you arguing about exercise vs being active - when it comes to weight loss, just simplify the 'out' as well. Walking the dog for instance, can be called 'exercise', it can be just 'active in every day life' or it can mean nothing to you, but what doesn't change for every single one of us, is that it's burning calories.7
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For those of you arguing about exercise vs being active - when it comes to weight loss, just simplify the 'out' as well. Walking the dog for instance, can be called 'exercise', it can be just 'active in every day life' or it can mean nothing to you, but what doesn't change for every single one of us, is that it's burning calories.
Very well said 1 -
Hungry_Shopgirl wrote: »I 100% agree that being in a calorie deficit is all it takes to lose weight.
But when I read on the boards people telling others who are struggling to make time to work out "You don't need exercise to lose weight" I cringe a little....mostly because in my own case it all started with exercise.
I started swimming, and wanted to be better at it so I took up C25K, then figured eating better would probably help with both, bringing me to the calorie deficit that put me into the "normal weight" BMI for the first time in my adult life. Even now, exercising is the engine for me. If I'm working out, I WANT to eat well. If not, I don't care.
So perhaps there are other "latent" athletes out there for whom the advice to make time to work out could be the trigger that changes everything, and we're discouraging that by saying "Nah, don't worry about it, just eat less".
Thoughts?
Personally, I like that posts get a variety of advice. Coming here helped to dispell a lot of the mysteries around weight loss that I'd been holding onto and hearing things like "you don't necessarily have to exercise" helped me take a step back and feel like I was in control of this process instead of the other way around. I did choose to continue exercising, but knowing it was a choice and not a requirement empowered me. It would be great if those here who don't like the advice being given could jump in and add their own experiences on those threads instead of trying to dictate how the rest of us give advice.15 -
From some research and reading advise on the thread i have learnt;4
1. You can lose weight without exercise as long as your in a calorie deficit (Weight is lost in the kitchen)
2. Exercise helps you burn calories and build muscle
3. Exercise helps you burn those extra calories if you have gone over your daily goal (If you dont eat them back that is)
4. Many people cant stand the idea of going to the gym but as long as you work out your muscles there are positive results. It could be as easy as walking your dog or playing with the kids in the play ground, a bike ride whatever your fancy.
5. Nothing is set in stone.... find what works for you and run with it.6
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